Aoun Hopes Budget Will be Swiftly Approved in Parliament
President Michel Aoun on Wednesday hoped the 2019 draft state budget will be approved in Parliament “as quickly as possible.”
“The draft 2019 budget includes measures to strengthen the productive sectors in Lebanon, especially industry and agriculture, with the aim of gradual transformation to a productive economy rather than a services-based one as endorsed by the previous governments,” Aoun said.
“The economic rise process has kicked off and oil and gas exploration at the beginning of next year will have a positive impact on the national economy,” the president added.
And noting that “the Cabinet's approval of the draft 2019 budget has created relief in the financial markets,” Aoun said “the implementation of the measures and steps stipulated in the new budget will slash deficit and lay the groundwork for the 2020 budget.”
He added: “The ministers will begin submitting their budgets to Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil in order to study the (2020 budget) and refer it to Parliament within the constitutional timeframe.”
The Cabinet held 19 sessions to finalize the budget after Lebanon vowed to slash public spending to unlock $11 billion worth of aid pledged by international donors during an April 2018 conference in Paris.
Last month, Prime Minister Saad Hariri vowed to introduce "the most austere budget in Lebanon's history" to combat the country's bulging fiscal deficit.
Lebanon is one of the world's most indebted countries, with public debt estimated at 141 percent of GDP in 2018, according to credit ratings agency Moody's.
